1. Field of the Invention
Flail type mowers because of their efficiency and their universal application to many types of mowing jobs are in great use. However, the free swinging blades of such flail mowers are subject to dulling from use and nicking from striking rocks and other foreign materials in the mowing operations. It is thus necessary to sharpen the blades periodically and in certain instances to replace the blades.
Many have previously worked on the development of means for removing the pendant blades for their required servicing. The present invention is directed to a quickly and easily dismountable blade for a flail type mower.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The present inventor has been a pioneer in the field of flail mowers and has had a number of prior issued patents on such mowers. The Mathews U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,335 defines a flail type mower which has the blades thereof removable by the removing of a nut threadedly engaging a horizontal shank formed with the blade.
The Mathews U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,357 shows and describes another method of blade removal from a flail type mower. Here, a blade supporting link is held in a sleeve lug on the mower rotor in such a manner that the compression of a spring will permit just enough movement of the mounting link to permit the unhooking of the blade therefrom.
The Mathews U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,359 relates to the permissive removal of a flail blade from a limited spacing of parts of a mounting link when that mounting is removed from a sleeve type lug. When the link engages the lug the space is closed, preventing blade removal.
The Mott U.S. Pat. No. 3,043,080 is directed to a blade mounting assembly for flail mowers. However, disassembly required extensive removal of elements to free the blades and hence blade servicing was very time consuming.
The Mott, Jr. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,177,640 and 3,375,647 both show apparent advancements in blade dismounting for that time in history, but it was still a tedious job to service the blades.
The Woodring U.S. Pat. No. 3,400,527 describes the assembly and disassembly of a flail blade thusly: "The gap 44 particularly is narrower than the diameter of the bolt 20. After the knives are put onto the ring, the ring is put in place by hooking the hooks 38 over the bolt which may be done by fitting the end portions 42 to the space between the bolt and the shaft and then forcing the link into place by working, plying, spreading or prying it, etc., and if necessary it can be given a blow with a hammer to force it into place . . . . The ring is removed for replacement of the knives, by reverse movements." It is evident from this description that the blades are not easily removed for servicing.
The Panek and Woodring U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,402,541 and 3,411,279 both show flail mower blade mounts which are removable, but again removal does not appear to be simple.
All of the above described prior devices required substantial work and inconvenience to effect blade removal whereas applicant's subject blade mount is quickly and easily removable. Applicant's invention relates to the quick and easy removal of a flail blade and yet when the blades are functioning in the mower, the blades are securely locked in their operating position on the mower rotor.